Ignatius Aphrem II
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His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Patriarch of Antioch |
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| Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and Supreme Leader of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. | |
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| Native name | ܐܝܓܢܛܝܘܣ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܬܪܝܢܐ |
| Church | Syriac Orthodox Church |
| See | See of Antioch |
| Elected | March 31, 2014 |
| Installed | May 29, 2014 |
| Predecessor | Ignatius Zakka I Iwas |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1985 |
| Consecration | January 28, 1996 by Ignatius Zakka I Iwas |
| Rank | Patriarch |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Saʿid Karim (Syriac: ܣܥܝܕ ܟܪܝܡ, Arabic: سعيد كريم) |
| Born |
May 3, 1965 Qamishli, Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian; American |
| Denomination | Syriac Orthodox |
| Parents | Issa and Khanema Karim |
| Previous post | Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar of the Archdiocese of the Eastern United States |
| Alma mater | St Patrick's College, Maynooth, Coptic Theological Seminary |
Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II (Syriac: ܡܪܢ ܡܪܝ ܐܝܓܢܛܝܘܣ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܬܪܝܢܐ Moran Mor Ignaṭius Afrem Trayono, Arabic: مار إغناطيوس أفرام الثاني Mār Iġnāṭīūs Afrām al-Ṯānī; born as Saʿid Karim on May 3, 1965) is the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He became the 123rd Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch when he was enthroned as patriarch in Damascus on May 29, 2014. Before his election to the patriarchate, he was Archbishop for the Eastern United States of America, and known as Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim in that post. In that role, he established 11 new parishes, introduced a number of new programs for the youth, and worked for inter-church unity.
Saʿid Karim was born in Qamishli, north-eastern Syria, on May 3, 1965, the youngest son of Issa and Khanema Karim. His family are Syriacs[1] who originally came from the village Ëḥwo (Turkish: Güzelsu) in the Tur Abdin region of Mardin Province, Turkey.
After finishing primary schooling in Qamishli in 1977, Karim received his religious secondary education at St. Ephrem's Theological Seminary in Atchaneh, Bikfaya, Lebanon. After completing school in 1982, he worked in Aleppo, Syria, as an assistant to the Archbishop Mor Gregorios Yuhanna Ibrahim. From 1984 to 1988, he attended the Coptic Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Divinity.
In 1985, Saʿid Karim took the vows of a monk, and changed his name to Aphrem in honor of the 4th-century Syriac poet-theologian Ephrem the Syrian and former patriarch Aphrem I Barsoum. He was ordained deacon, and, later that year, was elevated to the sacred priesthood. From 1988 to 1989, he served as both the secretary to his patriarchal predecessor, Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, and as a teacher at St. Ephrem’s Theological Seminary in Damascus, Syria.
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